The Nothing... oh wait, that's just a hurricane

Hello!

It's only been like, four days since the last email.

So on Thursday we went out all morning, to what felt like the edge of the earth, and were graced by the sight of an incredible lightning show. The only comforting thing was knowing that we were on rubber tires. Then we were going to bike to our lesson with Mary Helen, but we kept getting all these warnings from people along the way. "There's rain coming" "We hope you get to some cover quickly" and we were like, "what is going on?" Meanwhile, the sun's out and it's pretty hot, things are looking good. Then this thunderhead catches us out on the back roads and we got soaked once again! Yeah, we got a ride to our lesson. It was some kind of freaky backlash from the hurricane that hit Florida, or something like that. Oh and then AND THEN at our ward coordination meeting one of our elders was like, "We biked 5 miles and no one was home!" and he was so mad and Sister Mitchell and I were trying to keep it together! Buddy, we biked 14 miles and it was all hills, and ain't nobody was home! NOBODY!

I mean, it's not a competition......🙂

We have a lot of rich neighborhoods too that are out in no-where's ville. Fun to look at but not to tract. We mostly do finding in those places, but even that can be hard. It's especially encouraging when the maid opens the giant French doors and goes, "no sorry, you'll have to make an appointment." Right... appointment... who are these people and what the heck do they even do for a living?

Our district meeting was on Friday and we got to have interviews with President and Sister Hughes! We also had this wonderful training on how we need to let go of the things holding us back from being all in. Just what I needed!👍We did some finding before our lesson with Jennifer and found a new investigator! Her name is Stephanie and we contacted her on the street, she seemed pretty cool.

Saturday was a day that started out weird and I didn't know how to feel, but it ended up being awesome. I thought I had annoyed Sister Mitchell all morning, (and I was annoyed at myself for being so insecure and timid) so I asked her about it while we were out tracting this neighborhood. She told me she wasn't annoyed at all and I was like whaaaat. Then we spent the whole day while we were finding having the longest companion inventory ever! We have been able to be so much more unified because we just tell each other everything! I have become so much more confident and bold just because of it. Well, mostly from being around Sister Mitchell- cuz she's awesome. 😊

Yesterday we had both of our investigators at church, and Mary Helen brought her cute service dog, Allie. Mary Helen is getting baptized on the 12th and she's engaged to brother Kessler! They're getting married on August 20th which is just crazy to me. After church we got a ride home with the Hill's, whom we love dearly, and then we got invited to the bishops massive house for a break-the-fast dinner. It was awesome, and there was this adorable little boy named Tommy who was trying to see how many stuffed animals he could balance on my head.

I started color coding my scriptures because I'm sick of being disorganized, and I decided I'm not going to second guess myself anymore, I'm just gonna do things on the first instinct I have! I could save myself from a lot of stress if I was more confident in my decisions!

Well I think that was it. I feel like I might be forgetting something, but oh well!

I love you all so so much and I think y'all are just the best! Have a beautiful week!

With love,
Sister Wilcox❤❤❤


Sorry but some of these pics are from last week and probably the week before because I'm terrible.

The feet belong to sister Mitchell. Just thought I'd keep y'all updated on her ridiculous tan line!😜

 

I guess you're wondering where I went...🤗

Greetings loved ones,

So our mission president asked us to proselyte on memorial day, so our p-day was moved to today... well I didn't find that out till p-day was over last week so sorry y'all! It felt like the never ending week!

So this week was pretty eventful. We had district p-day last Monday and that's always fun! Then Tuesday we had exchanges with our sister training leader Sister Rogers! I got to lead out the area with her and teach Mary Helen about tithing! However, on our bike ride over there Sister Rogers wiped out down a hill and I'm starting to feel like I'm bad luck... She scraped her hands pretty good and I had disinfectant wipes and right as I go to help her a bird pooped on her hand! Not on the scrape but we were both like, "is this for real?!" Good thing I had wipes!😂😂😂

Wednesday was the end of exchanges and our district meeting which was excellent. We were trained on charity and how we can help our investigators have charity as well, which I thought was interesting. What better way is there to feel closer to Christ than by learning to have charity for those around you? Charity is the pure love of Christ, that I know of for sure!

Hermana Bever did this cool scripture comparison with the Book of Mormon and the Bible. I want to do that with charity scriptures:

1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

Moroni 7:45
And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

Isn't that cool?! The Book of Mormon and the Bible are truly companions. They don't take away from or disprove the other. They hold the same truths because Jesus taught his gospel to the Jews and the people of the ancient Americas. Why would it be different? His gospel wasn't just for one people or one nation, it was for all. The Book of Mormon and the Bible testify of that, and I know that's why we have them both and that they contain the words of God.

So anyway, on Thursday while we were finding in the morning hours we met this gal named Carolyn. She was setting up this mini dumpster thing and we asked if we could help. Usually people say no, but she said, "If you want." Oh heck yes we want to. 😲 We helped her clean out a bunch of junk from her outdoor living space that the previous home owners left, (and we did it in dresses so I can check that off my mission bucket list). She felt so bad that we were helping her clean and she kept apologizing, and we were like "this is what we do! We wanted to do It!" Which led to her asking what we actually do and we explained that we were missionaries and we help people come closer to Christ by reading the Book of Mormon. She accepted one and said she'd read it with her little girl! She said she wants her children to have a relationship with Christ. She had this crazy accident and has seen things working in the medical field that have shaken her faith, but she felt we met her for a reason and seems very ready to hear the Gospel. We got a return appointment!😀 service is the BEST! ❤❤❤

Friday was a whole bunch of finding and we got to visit the Wightmans again! Cutest old couple ever! We're trying to encourage them to go to church again, brother Wightman does but not sister Wightman. We had a little lesson/spiritual thought on the Atonement and how the Savior gives us hope. It was exactly what needed to be heard because Sister Wightman jumped right in and helped us more than I think we helped her!😂 And she made us delicious smoothies!

Saturday was more finding, lunch with Katie and her husband Eric, and service at the Ball's home! May 28th is Sister Mitchell's b-day so Katie wanted to take her out to Chuy's for an early birthday lunch. Chuy's is amazing!

On Sunday we found out that brother Kessler was in the hospital and Mary Helen went with him! We were trying to get a hold of anyone who could tell us more and finally we got a hold of brother Kessler himself, who said he was released and doing good. We were only freaking out for 3 hours🙃. We visited our investigators Jennifer and Will who we've been having darn good lessons all week with. Jennifer seems to be understanding more and more each time we meet. We got to go to a fireside that night with Jennifer too! It's where recent converts share their stories and their testimonies and it was just fabulous! There were many converts who told us missionaries to never stop being annoying and persistent. It was everything I needed to hear. We do make a difference whether or not we see it or people want it.

Monday was insane because it was Sister Mitchell's birthday and memorial day. We did some gardening in the morning at the Friley's! It was flipping awesome and I got soooo sweaty! And Murphey (their dog) got a hold of a glove and so we chased him around the yard for a bit😉. Then we went out to lunch with a couple from Sister Mitchell's first area from Salem Indiana. They're converts and she just adores them! Afterwards we had a lesson with Carolyn. We taught her the Restoration and she had such an open heart, and her sweet family just makes me melt! We don't know how ready she is to join the Church, maybe in the future, but right now she's definitely ready to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Most investigators I've come into contact with (the really prepared ones) all seem to be able to relate to Joseph Smith on some level. Whether it's wondering why there are so many churches or if God will really answer their prayers or what is after this life and so on. Literally no one else could have restored the fullness of Christ's gospel except for Joseph Smith. No one else could have spoken to the hearts of millions of people years after the Restoration the way Joseph Smith's story does. I know it was all by divine design, and it's really special to see someone find that connection with him.

As soon as we walked out of our lesson it dumped on us. It was the kind of rain that soaks you to the point where you may as well have just jumped into a pool you're that completely drenched. Carolyn was like "stay here till it stops!" but we were like "we can't we gotta keep going!" We were already wet anyway. We had another appointment which we ended up cancelling cuz the weather read our minds and it got worse... so we biked home, changed, and went to our lesson/dinner appointment at the Ball's home. We went over the Plan of Salvation with Jennifer and Will again to make sure they really know it, then we had an awesome barbeque inside and birthday cake!

Tuesday was weird and a little rough but I think it's just because we really needed a p-day. Yup. Oh I forgot about transfers! We didn't get any calls because obviously Sister Mitchell and I are meant for each other and this area! They couldn't split us up yet!😬 but they rearranged our district again, now we have the ZL's AND the STL's in our district. That's not intimidating or anything... our ward was holding their breath though it was pretty funny! They were like, "none of you can leave!" It's gonna happen one day just not this time!😎

That was my week and a half story. I believe next p-day is normal, if I'm wrong I am so sorry!

Shout out to my cousin Djeryd who just got his mission call to FIJI! WOOHOO!🎉🎊🎉🎊🎉 I am so so sooooooo excited for him! Missions are the greatest experience anyone could ever have! I'm totally not biased or anything!😜

Happy belated Memorial Day! Hope everyone had a nice barbeque and got to celebrate the lives of our fallen heroes!😘

Have a wonderful week!

With tons and tons of love,
Sister Wilcox❤💕💕❤

I almost drownded!🦑

Hey y'all, another week down!

Can you believe it's nearly June? I can't! We'll be getting transfer calls I think this Saturday?? But Sister Mitchell doesn't think either of us will go since I just got here and we've only been companions for one transfer... but you never know!

We've been tracking down as many less actives as possible this week. With ministering kicking into gear there's a lot of members who don't know who their people are or if they even still live here. Sister Mitchell and I go and find them and it's so much fun! We had one guy last week who said, "man, y'all are like bloodhounds!" I just told him it was the spirit. 🙃 Which is true because most people aren't home, so the odds of us meeting anyone is next to never!

This week has been very cloudy and cool, as in the 80s. The thing I can't get over is the rain is warm, and we'll probably have more rainstorms throughout the summer. But anyways we got dumped on. We were absolutely drenched and I was like, it's a good thing it's so warm right now because this is no bueno! Then this man let us into his home, and we felt bad because we were dripping, but he just gave us some towels and said not to worry about it. He kept saying he could toss our bikes in the back of his truck and take us home, but we were like nah it's okay we'll bike. He was baptist and not interested at all, but he let us in anyway. Eveyone has the light of Christ, and everyone is capable of charity and kindness no matter where you come from.

Service is my most favorite thing to do ever. Especially when someone wants some yard work done!!! The Miller family in our ward is adorable and they have 3 young kids. Brother Miller is fighting off cancer, but he won't show his illness, he just refuses to and he's amazing for it. Anyway, they wanted a plot to put their garden in so Sister Mitchell and I and the Huss family (Sister Huss and her 3 hard working little boys) dug out a patch of their lawn for them. It awesome and I love those boys oh my gosh! They were helping us work the whole time, and they were so smart and cute! I told Sister Huss I wanted her secrets because I want my kids to be like that!😆 She's a return missionary and she just said to center your home on the Gospel, find ways to tie daily life experiences to the gospel, and keep to a schedule! Oh man I'm so bad at that last part!😂

We've been doing a ton of tracting too, which I haven't done in a while. It was actually fun because Sister Mitchell and I bonded the whole time and talked about everything. I mean, we do that all the time, but we did more of it because we had a lot of hours! Then she insisted on climbing a tree, in a dress... nothing can stop you after you've mastered riding a bike in one I guess. Ooh that rhymed!

I got to play with so many cute dogs this week! I'm loving life! The Friley's have this giant shaggy black dog named Murphey who is crazy, then there was this red merle leopard dog, with the prettiest eyes I've ever seen. Lastly there was a puppy who was a cross between a chocolate lab pitt mix and a daschund, if I spelled that right?? Her name was Roxie and she was flipping adorable and crazy but I love her!

James 2: 17-26 was everything I've ever wanted because it teaches us that faith without works is dead. I've had too many people tell me that that is wrong, but it's right there in the Bible they read out of. Works and faith go together because faith makes us take action. It's not an idle thing at all, and those who truly love God and His Son want to show their love by doing all they can to serve him and obey his commandments. I've come to realize that acting on our faith makes it so much stronger and unshakable.

I love you all so very much! Have a blessed beautiful week!

The lady in the picture with the silo is one of the less actives we found last week who took us out to lunch and then to a park... she's awesome!

 

 

Muy Caliente! 😣

Hi everybody!

This week was great! It was a little rough at first but everything is awesome! We got to call home for Mother's Day and that was the absolute best thing ever!!! Technology is amazing! Getting to talk to my family was even more amazing I love them!

We did a ton of finding this week because that's what we do every week, and we've been dong a lot of groundwork trying to find people who have fallen off the face of the earth basically. It's been fun! I feel like a detective!

Oh there was this one lady who is the wife of a less active who was so venemous at the door oh my goodness! We asked if he was home and she was like "ummm no, he's at work" (said it like we should know), we asked if there was a better time we could come by, "why? I don't, I don't understand??" and we were like "because there are some members who wanted to see how he's doing?" and then she went nutty and said "he's not a member ok? He's not a member anymore!" (also said as if we should already know that) and we were only there because people were worried about him!

We met a really sweet guy named Michael who was very interested in our beliefs because we told him we believe in miracles. He has seen many miracles in his life and recognizes God's hand in all things. He's a very humble, tender guy. We met another gal last night, Sara, who had met the missionaries before and said she really needed to read the Book  of Mormon, so we gave her one and she became a new investigator. The whole encounter was really cool!

We were going to the Mays home for our phone calls home and found out that Jerry, Sister Mays son, got in a car wreck just before church ended! He plowed through some trees and a chainlink fence after swerving around a lady who stopped too quickly. He's okay though, he drives too fast so maybe he won't do that anymore??

On our way over to the Mays, Sister Mitchell hit a mailbox and wiped out! She got all scraped up and bloody, but she's such a trooper! This guy across the street saw it happen and ran over to us to make sure she was okay, some people can be so nice! You can't be in a bike mission and not have a good crash n' burn story!

It's really hot here. Like, really hot and I'm not sure how we're going to bike in this weather and not die? But it will be fine I suppose, we haven't died yet, and the Lord will provide in all things! Also, I have a wicked biking tan line that I'm not sure I want to give up!

I love you all! You are amazing, beautiful souls and I hope y'all have a fantastic week!

With love,
Sister Wilcox😘

 

 

Monsoons, Scabies 2.0 & Justify Wins!

Hello my loves!

Oh my gosh it's May! What is going on??

Here's my address, it only took me 3 weeks and an email from my dad to get it to y'all😅

7723 Hogans Run Louisville Kentucky 40228

I've made some animal friends, lots of em. There's a quartet of Canadian geese that come hang outside our apartment every morning and a trio of mallard ducks. It's like a Disney princess movie or something. This morning when I opened the door there were squirrels, rabbits, doves and ducks all right there. I don't know what it is maybe they just sense the spirit strongly here...

Our bus that we usually take to district meetings on Wednesdays got side swiped by a school bus so we were an hour late for the meeting. We were supposed to be doing a training AND had interviews with President Hughes, so that was fun. We made it to our lesson with Mary Helen afterwards and that's all that mattered to me!😥 She is awesome and she loves Joseph Smith, it's adorable! She's read all she can on him and his history as a side to everything else we have her study. She just thinks it's incredible that a boy of his age could be so open to revelation, and willing to act on whatever revelation he received. I just like to think how perfect it all was.

Christ's church was restored in a new and free country, with freedom of religion abounding. A young boy with a pure desire to do whatever the Lord would have him do, restored the true church at a time when people were searching for the truth and was called to be a prophet to lead and guide the saints by the power of God. He translated the Book of Mormon, and had other revelations that would later come as the Doctrine & Covenants and The Pearl of Great Price. He and the early Latter Day Saints were driven and persecuted and threatened, Joseph Smith was martered, and the saints suffered so much. Finally they reached Utah, and from there the rest is history.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is called such because it is His church, and we are his people in the later days. It is all over the world in nearly every nation, in tongues and cultures across the globe. There are temples all over, new ones being dedicated every year. There are saints in Africa, Chile, Japan, Thailand, Tonga, Portugal, Ukraine, Mongolia and so on and so forth. The Church isn't for one nation. It is for all God's children and it the one thing that unifies us all, because it is of God and not of man. It would not work if it was all made up in some little boys mind. I know it's true and I KNOW that this gospel is true. It is the only way to real happiness, to eternal families, and to live with God and our Savior again at the end of this life. The world cannot deny the testimonies of the millions that have come to know the fullness of the gospel, and it cannot deny those who gave their lives for it.

Sorry I got on a little rant.

On Thursday we went to a doctors appointment for Sister Mitchell (shes okay) and I went to the clinic because I found out I still had scabies (I cleaned EVERYTHING and used the medicine and it's clearing up now). We had dinner with this cuuuuute family, the Storms. Great name. Anyway, they have two little kids at 2 & 4, James and Scout. I seem to have made more little friends because the entire time we were over there they were trying to get my attention. I think it's because I'm new. James would run down the hall at me and then latch onto my leg, then do it all over again! Scout held my hand the entire car ride to ward coordination. She refused to let go until I told her we'd see eachother at church!😆 They also showed me their super cool cat that had a green eye and a blue eye. He's a graceling! (Scout totally hunted me down at church it was adorable).

Friday we had exchanges with our one Sister Training Leader. I was with her companion who she's finished training after this transfer, Sister Goddard. Sister Goddard was really nervous about leading her area for the day and she didn't like the idea of biking (but they're trying to save miles on their car) or finding, but we did it! I told her to just pick an area and go for it. So that's what we did. We met this cool mechanic who loves his family, and maybe one day he would like to meet with missionaries, and this other lady who was out walking and accepted a Book of Mormon. It was weird to think that I just barely got out of training, really it blew my mind!

Saturday was Derby and yes, we did go to a derby party and saw parts of different races. Also, we got to watch a horse called Justify win the derby. I found out that I just like watching the horses run, not so much the racing part and betting part. Oh and it dumped rain so it was pretty funny seeing all the people in the crowd with their crazy outfits covered in rain ponchos. Seriously it was like a monsoon! We had another lesson with Mary Helen that night and that was the highlight of the day. Love her!😍

Sunday we biked and got yelled at on the road. "Could you effing move faster?!" Only he said the actual word of course. I couldn't help but think that they wouldn't have had to drive at a snails pace behind us if they went to church and then STAYED HOME CUZ IT'S THE SABBATH. I almost offered to drive his car so he could bike instead. It must be so difficult to drive with air conditioning behind two cyclists in skirts in the heat who wouldn't be on the road in the first place if there was a bleeding sidewalk or alternate route. Life is so hard. 🙂

We did get to see two less actives though, and we got to hang out with one because as soon as she opened the door if started raining. Then it pulled the whole monsoon madness like it did the day before and we were stuck inside! She was so nice though and gave us some stew. Her name was Kathy, not that y'all would know her I just wanted to put that down.

There is honeysuckle growing EVERYWHERE! It's like the blackberries in Oregon! Also, the air is getting thick and the rain here is warm, what is this place?

 

I can't think of anything fun or clever for a header, so yeah

Hey y'all!

This week was crazy! I feel like I'm going to say that every week but oh well. This week was gorgeous and mild and I loved it! The upcoming week is going to be HOT and I'm scared!😣

Tuesday we didn't have a whole lot of success and it was getting Sister Mitchell down. The people we had return appointments for either didn't answer the door or made other plans, so that was fun! My poor companion was not loving the wall we'd hit and she was being pretty hard on herself. For whatever reason, this area, before it was split, was seeing miracles come out of the woodworks. After our territory was cut in half we didn't have hardly anyone to teach and basically we had to start from scratch. I'm used to this kind of thing, but Sister Mitchell got very depressed and stressed that we weren't finding people everyday. We did get to visit a cute elderly single sister and we got keep her company for a while. I love visiting less actives and single sisters because it lets them know they still matter, I always leave feeling a little lighter and happier.

Wednesday was our zone conference that we didn't find out about till the day before, but we made it! We received some awesome training on prioritizing our planning and helping people gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon, it was awesome! President Hughes said that this mission will prepare us for the mission that is the rest of our lives, (if I said that right) so that really made me think about the person I want to be when I leave Kentucky. I know that's not for a long time, but it made me think! Also, we got a referral from a member which was flipping awesome!

There was a lizard loose in the chapel, apparently there are a lot of reptiles that run around here. One of our part member families has a box turtle problem. BOX TURTLES! 😲 That's not a problem, that's a blessing! I will get pictures of them I promise!

After the conference Sister Mitchell got a blessing from our DL Elder Gibbons and our old DL Elder Johnson. She felt a little better afterwards, but then the ride home was crazy! We were with the Hermanas and everything was fine, we got a little lost at first, then this thing fell off the semi in front of us and popped our front right tire! The hub-cap flew off too. We pulled into a gas station and got some help an hour or so later. Also, I planted some hyacinths for an older lady in our ward, in my dress... I tied it back so it's all good! I have mad skills😬.

Thursday was full of biking and finding! Lot's of it. We went to our dinner appointment with the Ball family and I love them so much!!! They're so good to us! Sister Ball had some words of wisdom for Sister Mitchell and all was well, until we got a text from a member in our ward. He sent a 3 page text ranting about us not living up to missionary standards and how we put his family in the back seat, and he was going to call President Hughes, among other things.

Earlier that morning we had a mix up with appointments with the new referral we received and the ranting member's wife (who is not a member and isn't progressing at all in the lessons, not that that's an excuse I guess...😐). His wife said it was ok if we rescheduled and we went about the day. That sort of thing happens all the time, we wish it didn't, but it does. That's life.

Anyways, this totally freaks out my companion and it was the straw that broke the camel's back. She was already struggling with a whole bunch of other things and this didn't help at all. She thought it was all her fault too. This was all while still at dinner, which was a good thing because Sister Ball was AMAZING and helped Sister Mitchell feel better about the situation. She sent a very meek and lowly text back, meanwhile I was wishing this delusional man had actually called president. That would have been fun. The next morning he texted back and said all was forgiven... so that was awesome!🙃 Apparently he does this sort of thing to missionaries and members so at least we're not the only ones.

Friday we got to meet with our referral Mary Helen, who is the most prepared investigator I've met so far. She is this cute old lady in a nursing home and she was introduced to the gospel by a member in the same nursing home, Brother Kessler. You can have a good influence on anyone, no matter the age! It was a miracle for us and exactly what we needed after the crazy week we'd been having.

Saturday we met another prepared investigator, Jennifer, who is already so humble and really wants to feel peace in her life. She came to church this Sunday and it was all just so wonderful! I am so grateful that the weekend was the light at the end of the tunnel! And that Heavenly Father really does bless us if we endure faithfully.

We biked a bazillion miles on Sunday. Sister Mitchell said she's never had to do that on a Sunday until I came around, I guess I'm cursed😁. But it was awesome and I hurt everywhere! Should have taken pictures of the hills we climbed😥.

I love y'all so much! I'm grateful for all the prayers and the encouragement, you've blessed me simply by being a part of my life. Thank You!

With love,
Sister Wilcox😚

I did a lot of navigating this week, so that was fun.
Elders replacing tires
The speck on the road is me, I left my companion...
The muddy pic is the aftermath of my tumble into the ditch.

Woodhaven

Holy cows,

I never thought that I would fall in love with an area, but it happened! Woodhaven is the dream! It's still part of the city but far enough out that it doesn't feel super busy. It almost has a country feel, and it's so beautiful over here. We do bike over the freeway every other day, so I still get reminded where we're actually at. Oh and there's this giant hill we bike down sometimes and you go so fast your eyes start tearing up! It's awesome and probably super dangerous!😅

We bike all day every day which is just the best! I'm sore all the time but my legs actually have muscles in them now! 😆My companion, Sister Mitchell, does planning differently and we go out in the morning, come back, and go out again and it's great because I don't have a chance to talk myself out of anything!😉 We do finding all day, and we visit people and teach and we're busy all the time. I love it!😊 I've never been this content and self motivated on the mission, I'm so grateful, and prayers are definitely being answered!

It's been nice all week except for today. Today it's raining pretty darn good with an awesome wind factor to add to the madness. But everything is so green and lush, the trees are blooming and the flowers are opening up, a girl can't complain! I got sunburnt this week in the dumbest places. Only half of my foot is gonna be tan while the rest will still be this blinding whiteness. Also, I fell in a ditch.

We were going to turn onto this one main road, and there's a ton of traffic, so we were about to go when Sister Mitchell stopped again and I stopped but on kind of an awkward rise and lost my balance and fell into a ditch. I was laughing so hard because it was the only ditch full of mud and of course I fell into that one! I had mud and blood all down my leg cuz I kinda hit a cement chunk... but there were some members close by and they got me fixed up. Their daughter Delany insisted on bandaging my leg (even though it was just a couple scratches), so the rest of the day I biked around with a pink camo bandaids and a patch of gauze on my leg. I should have taken a picuture but I forgot!😣

I keep forgetting to tell y'all about my fun little discovery the Saturday before transfers. So I had a rash appear on my wrist where I always wore my watch. I thought it was chafing so I stopped wearing it for a while. Well this rash got on my fingers and my other hand, and it would get agitated and itchy when we'd bike. Finally I looked it up in our medical book because I was worried it might be something worse than I thought and transfers were coming up. Turns out I had scabies. They're these awesome little bloodsucking mites that you can get from just about anywhere, it doesn't matter how clean you are. I had to go to the clinic and get some medicinal cream and Sister Wilcox Sr and I washed EVERYTHING. It was a great last Saturday in Hurstbourne...😐😬

I'm in animal heaven! Everyone has a pet of some kind. I've seen so many bull dogs, pit bulls (Sister Mitchell had one of those charge at her yesterday😨),pitt mixes, german sheperds, beagles, and we saw a great Dane the other day. A lot of people around here also have chickens in their backyards which blows my brain because I thought you couldn't have any in an urban area... every now and again I'll hear a rooster crowing and I just love these crazy people! I saw cows for the first time in a while too!😀

So people here are mostly baptist, catholic, roman catholic, pentacost, lutherin, seven day adventists, south east Christian or Christian of some sort. It's so much more fun to meet someone outside of those, because that's not as common and people outside of those parameters are usually more open minded. Meeting an atheist or an agnostic or a pagan is always stretching because we're all so used to Bible loving people. I love it because we get challenged differently and we have to teach based on what they understand.

The other day we met a wiccan dude for the first time and he actually wants to meet with us. Sister Mitchell was concerned about what we're even gonna teach this guy, because he believes in goddesses of the sun and moon and nature stuff. But while he was talking, he mentioned that he liked "feeling" the energy around him. When we were leaving I thought, "this guy would really like the Holy Spirit" and Sister Mitchell was like, "yessss!" So when we meet him next that's what we're talking about. I don't know how solid he'll be, but I'm excited!

Also, we met this really sweet man outside his home on Tuesday or Wednesday, I think. He was open to meeting with us again and we asked if we could say a prayer with him. He started crying during the prayer, and it was the cutest thing! I love these people!

Sister Mitchell is very in tune with the spirit and she just goes for the first prompting she gets and it's great! Earlier this week we were in a neighborhood trying to get a hold of a former investigator. We were about to leave when she suddenly felt like we needed to stay. She said that someone there needed us. So we walked slowly down the street knocking doors we felt the slightest inclination to go to. Then at the very end we reached the home of an old man who lost his wife 2 years ago. We talked with him for a long time, and he wasn't interested in the Church, but he got a little emotional when he told us he was grateful we decided to stop and talk to him. Heavenly Father is aware of all of us and our needs, whether your in the Church or not. We're here to uplift those around us and be tools in the Lord's hands as much as we are here to bring others to the gospel.

I actually have another thing on that. Sister Wilcox Sr and I were out later than usual one night when we ffan into this hobo-hiker guy named Walter. He was cool and he believed in being a good person and all that. He wasn't too fond of big churches, but we testified to him that the Church of Jesus Christ was restored once more and gave him our card. We then parted ways and didn't think much of it. Well three weeks later, Sister Wilcox tells me that Walter called and wanted to come to church! He said there was something different in our eyes and he wanted to know what. It was just soooooo cool!

I got to go to the Temple this week too because a mother and son were finally getting their endowments. It was such a neat experience, and they were so full of joy. They both have had such a rough life and now they finally get to have peace. I'm so grateful we have temples so close!

We had Thunder over Louisville on Saturday,  but missionaries aren't aloud to go. That's ok though we have a lot to do😎. Plus everybody gets drunk and then they drive around and it wouldn't be good for us to be out there in all that... Derby is coming up so that'll be insane. There should be a ton of people around though so that could be fun!

I miss my old ward and my companion, but it's so much fun here and my new ward is just as amazing! Plus, I'm still in the same Stake and building😄! My companion and I relate on so many levels yet differ enough to keep each other motivated. And we're working basically new area because our area has been split up. Our ward has 2 elder companionships now and us! How crazy is that?!

Our zone did a zone fast this last Sunday and Sister Mitchell and I made it to 6:30pm! And on bikes! Fasting with a purpose is so powerful. This new transfer is going to be amazing and I can't wait to see what happens!

I'm currently sitting on the floor in a onesie I found enjoying the luxury of having a washer & dryer IN the apartment. Life is good. That's all I can think of, I love you all tons!😘

I will send pictures eventually! I'm trying to get a hold of them all from Sister Wilcox Sr!

With love,
Sister Wilcox❤💕❤